Articles by Amy Russell

Article - Green Living; by Amy Russell - 11/11/10

My Six-Month Vegetable Journey

While touch and go at first, I now know my veggies — and how to cook them

Remember me? And my journey? For the past six months I’ve navigated Solomon’s Island Road every Thursday to restock my kitchen with the week’s produce that came in my share of the Community-Supported Agriculture farm I joined in April. I have embarked on a great food experiment: I am teaching myself to cook, I wrote back then. I know nothing about vegetables beyond the traditional broccoli and carrots. Knowing that I will have to branch out of those comforts if I really want...

Article - People; by Amy Russell - 10/21/10

A Passion for Politics

To help you vote, Shukoor Ahmed has an election app for your smart phone

With elections just days away, Shukoor Ahmed is working quickly to spread the word of his company’s latest smart phone application for Maryland voters. Ahmed combined his passion for politics with his entrepreneurial spirit to make a livelihood with voting tools. “I am politically active,” says the 48-year-old Bowie resident, who says he is living the American dream after immigrating from India 18 years ago with $500 in his pocket. “So my friends call me when they have...

Article - People; by Amy Russell - 10/7/10

Double Dipping

Sailing is Collin Linehan’s sport. It’s also his career

On a clear Saturday morning with just enough breeze, skipper Collin Linehan sits at the stern of his J22, listening to the calls of his crew. Water splashes against the hull of the racer, Funhouse Mirror, and the cool moisture from the Chesapeake relieves the temperatures of the crew on board. Linehan and his crew are competing for the J22 East Coast championship title in Annapolis, and as the sailors trim and hike, sweat beads across their foreheads. An avid sailor from Manchester,...

Article - People; by Amy Russell - 7/15/10

One Grand Dame

Within the Order of the Eastern Star, jewelry store owner Jean Chance wields power to do good

For 40 years, Jean Chance has been the grand dame of W. R. Chance Jewelers on Main Street, Annapolis, the family business started by her husband’s father more than 60 years ago. Now, she’s gained a grander title: Worthy Grand Dame of the Grand Chapter of Maryland Order of the Eastern Star. The Order of the Eastern Star is a tradition from her side of the family; her grandparents, father, aunts and uncles all belonged to the fraternal organization now numbering one million members in...

Article - News; by Amy Russell - 7/15/10

One Grand Dame

Within the Order of the Eastern Star, jewelry store owner Jean Chance wields power to do good

Article - Bay Reflections; by Amy Russell - 6/10/10

I’m Learning to Cook, One Box at a Time

Each week’s assortment of vegetables will be a new lesson

Bay Reflections - -by Driving down Solomon’s Island Road, I looked out the window with new appreciation. The traffic of Annapolis behind me, I spent the 20-minute drive pondering the crops that flourished along my route and wondering which of them would be in my box. “Is that corn? I wonder if I’ll get corn.” “Maybe that’s lettuce? I wonder if I’ll get lettuce.” Oh, the mysteries of belonging to Community...

Article - Things; by Amy Russell - 5/20/10

Hey, Hey, Hey, Get Out of My Way

The Blue Angels’ support plane, Fat Albert, has a few tricks up its wings

-“The current temperature is about 65 degrees with clear skies. The wind is calm,” Captain Edward Jorge, aircraft commander, tells his crew as he starts the pre-flight brief just minutes before his plane, Fat Albert, starts the Blue Angels’ show. The six-man crew hangs on to Eddie’s every word, digesting the information, with stone-cold focused faces and the occasional nod. Wind speeds, coordinates and the course are detailed too rapidly for a civilian to catch,...

Article - People; by Amy Russell - 5/13/10

A Time to Reap, A Time to Sow

After 21 seasons, native-plant propagator Mary-Stuart Sierra prepares for one final harvest

Mary-Stuart Sierra walks in peace among rows of potted plants. Shades of green envelop her, as if the plants are watching her watching them. She stops at a lead-root wildflower, an early spring bloomer, and pulls back the petals. She’s looking for the seed pouch, inspecting it for ripeness. “There is only a five-day span that these seeds are collectable,” she says. “Day one they are perfect and ready to be plucked, but by day five they’ve fallen and you have...